The chance to spend two weeks in a new city meeting big wigs and creating your own show to be staged at a high profile theatre? The TS Eliot US/UK Exchange is the sort of opportunity that theatre dreams are made of. With the deadline on Friday, James Quaife from Old Vic New Voices held a live webchat for IdeasTap users, answering your questions on everything from applications to accommodation. In case you missed it, here’s his advice…
When will people know if they’ve been selected for audition/interview for the exchange?
UK applicants will hear on Friday 25 Feb, US applicants within the same week.
What should people expect from the auditions/interviews?
For actors, you will need to prepare two contrasting monologues which are each no more than two minutes in length. You will perform these individually to members of the Old Vic New Voices transatlantic team. If you are successful on the first round of the casting you will be invited back to a call back on the same day.
For writers, directors and producers they will be invited for an interview with the Old Vic New Voices transatlantic team. The interviews will last around 20 minutes and will be held in the same week as the actors’ auditions.
Do the age restrictions apply to the closing date for applications or the date people will be travelling to New York/ London?
You need to be aged between 21 and 30 on the day that applications close on IdeasTap.
What would the £400/ $650 cover and what would we be expected to provide after this?
The fee of £400/ $650 covers your return flight to New York/ London, transport from the airport, workshops, events and meetings throughout the week. It also goes towards social networking events with top industry professionals during your time in New York/ London. For this fee you will also get the chance to perform, write, direct or produce an Off Broadway/ Old Vic play, which can then be a credit for your CV.
There are details of an Artists fund which you can apply for on the application form.
Could you explain a bit more about how the showcase will be put together?
The showcase will be put together by the participants of the Exchange, with advice and guidance from Old Vic New Voices management. The producers that are selected to take part in the Exchange will also have some responsibility for forming the companies.
When in New York the showcase will be run technically by the theatre crew and under the control of the Project Manager.
Will successful applicants need a tourist visa? Or a work visa?
If you have a full US or UK/EU passport, you will not need a visa as you won’t be working for payment or studying on an accredited course. It is your responsibility to make sure you're able to provide the requisite paperwork to allow you to travel to the UK/US. If you are able to enter and leave America/England legally then you are able to apply for the Exchange.
Do participants get to go to meetings in both cities or just when they are doing their tenure abroad?
When you are on your foreign Exchange, all the workshop and networking events will be organised for you. When the Exchange is in your home city then the workshops will not be open for you to attend, but there will be a few events in which you will be able to be involved.
For more frequently asked questions, check out the US/UK Exchange FAQs. To read all the questions and answers visit the Forum thread.
Read what last year's winners got up to on the Exchange in Brits Abroad and the Young Americans.
